Secrets Unleashed
by BlackWidowBaby
Summary: Akira Bellfront has been lost and vengeful for almost a decade. For years, her only priority was to take revenge on the monster who destroyed her city and her loved ones: Deliora. Now, deep in debt, she finds out that her long lost friend, Gray Fullbuster, is alive and well and member of the most powerful guild in Fiore: Fairy Tail. What happens when her past and present collide?
1. Chapter 1: Reunion of Old Friends

_**Hello fellow fairy tail fans:) This is my first fan fic posted so it would be awesome if you left a review or a suggestion:) Thank you and have a wonderful day:) Enjoy:)**_

Chapter 1—Reunion of Old Friends

Magnolia.

I never thought I'd return here. After what went down between me and that wizard. The wizard who had so much unbelievable power that I had cowered in his wake. Me, Akira Bellfront, cowered in front of a wizard. It was almost unheard of where I was from. But that wasn't why I was here. I was here to see an old friend. Who knew this wizard and my old friend, Gray Fullbuster, lived in the same town and in the same guild.

The town was as lively as ever and people walked by me with uplifting expressions. A young man tipped his hat to me and continued to walk on. You would think people would look at me different with my black clothes and my blue highlighted hair. I guess they have a lot of weirdos in this town. Not that I'm surprised. I mean, it is home to the Fairy Tail guild.

I turned my head to see some kind of festival happening in the plaza in the center of the city. I took a step towards it but paused, reminding myself why I was here. I needed to see Gray Fullbuster. I can't get distracted by a stupid festival. I turned away and walked in the opposite direction. I walked by a river and turned to look at myself in the water. My hair was just as unruly as ever. It was naturally blond but a freak accident had turned some strands a bright blue color that ironically matched my eyes.

I sighed and continued down the sidewalk. I stared at my black boots as they walked on one in front of the other. I still didn't know why I was so nervous to see him again. I guess it's natural when you haven't seen someone in almost a decade to feel nervous to see them again. When I heard he was alive I almost started sobbing. I was just hoping I would run into that wizard again. Apparently he's always out on jobs so hopefully he won't be there.

"Hey little lady! You shouldn't be walking around on your own out here!" I turned to see two men in a small dingy in the river. Instead of answering them with a witty response, I turned back to stare at my feet some more.

"Aw! No need to be shy! We won't bite!" they yelled out at me. I rolled my eyes and picked up the pace. I rounded the corner away from them. I don't know why I didn't answer. I guess I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that Gray was alive and well and living in this town.

I took a few more steps and looked up to face a huge building with a flag waving in front of grand double doors. The flag had a symbol on it that I could only assume to be the guild mark. In big bold letters above the flag were the words FAIRY TAIL. Yep, this was the right place. I took a deep breath and stepped up to the doors. I opened the door and stepped inside with more confidence than I thought I had.

I stood in the doorway a little surprised with what I saw. People were everywhere left and right, sitting at tables on couches at a bar and even on a second floor with tables at more couches. A huge bulletin board on the right had a huge crown gathered around it with people talking and arguing with each other. It was so energetic and lively that I almost lost my composure.

I shook my head and wiped all shock from my face. I stepped inside and let the door close behind me. No one gave me any notice as a group of people shoved by me yelling at each other. Two middle aged men sitting at the table closest to me eyed me suspiciously but other than that, I could have been invisible.

"Hello." I blinked and looked up at the voice. A beautiful woman in a long red dress was smiling up at me carrying a tray with drinks. She had long white hair and dark blue eyes. She was probably one of the most beautiful girls I had ever seen before.

"My name is Mirajane. Welcome to Fairy Tail. Is there something we could help you with?" She asked kindly. I immediately took a liking to her even though her perky attitude could get old really fast.

"Um, yeah. I'm here to see Gary Fullbuster. He's a member here isn't he?" she led me inside and had me sit at a table.

"Gray? Yes of course! I believe he's on a job right now." She said, placing two drinks on the table with the two men. One of them had a long white trench coat and dark blue hair gelled back. He looked like he used to be a really good-looking person when he was younger. The other had tan hair styled up on the top of his head with a pipe hanging out of his mouth.

"You're looking for Gray, huh? Mind my asking what you want with him?" the one with the pipe asked.

"I prefer to keep my business to myself. You understand." I replied smoothly. The other one grinned at me. Both of them stood up and joined me at my table. I wasn't sure how I felt about that.

"Don't you worry. Gray and the others will be back soon. They're usually pretty good about getting back in time for dinner, what, with Natsu with them. I'm Macao. This is Wakaba. You're welcome to wait here until he gets back." The one with the trench coat said.

"I was planning on it, thanks." I said shortly. I still hadn't made full eye contact with either of them yet and I honestly didn't plan to. It was annoying that Gray was out right now. I was hoping to get this over with quickly.

"Would you like anything to drink while you wait?" I looked up to see Mirajane smiling politely at me. I returned her warm smile with a stiff one and nodded. She walked away as people started to notice I was there. A young girl about my age with dark brown hair sat down next to Macao with a barrel full of some type of booze.

"So you're looking for Gray. What's he done this time? Not too much I hope." I gave her a small shake of the head but nothing more.

"Even if he did do something, Erza would have gotten to him about it. You know how she is with the guild's reputation." Macao said matter-of-factly. The girl nodded in agreement. I frowned. Why all this sudden attention? I was perfectly happy with waiting in a corner for him to return.

"I'm Cana by the way. I never got your name." The girl said. She took a swig of her barrel.

"That's because I never gave it to you." I snapped. The others paused and looked at each other in shock. God, why didn't they get the hint? I just wanted to be left alone.

"Ok… well in that case, what is your name?" Cana asked cautiously. A low growl worked its way up my throat and I almost started yelling before Mirajane saved me by interrupting with my drink. I took one long drink of the warm, sweet beverage. I downed it all in one go and the three at my table stared at me in shock and admiration.

"You realize that was a Fairy Cocktail?" Wakaba said, his mouth slightly parted but his pipe still firmly implanted in his mouth. I shrugged. Alcohol had never really bothered me even when I was a child. I never got drunk easy. Come to think of it, I've never even been slightly tipsy.

"It has six different types of alcoholic beverages and a splash of soda. Most of us can barely get through a single sip." Cana said in disbelief. I put the mug back on the table.

"Why would you give me this then?" I asked, my eyes narrowing. Mirajane appeared next to me.

"I wanted to give a true Fairy Tail welcome. I'm sorry if it was too much. Uh—" she paused as she stared at my empty mug. "Sh-Shall I get you another one?" I shrugged and she took the mug away, looking like she was in a daze. Cana closed her eyes and reopened them, grinning.

"I don't know who you are, but I like you. You're straight with people and you can handle the worst of alcohol. You're my kind of girl." She said smirking. I made eye contact with her and scanned her face for any sign of mockery in her features. There was nothing. She genuinely liked me.

"Thanks…" I said, not sure how to reply to that. Suddenly, the door burst open to reveal a boy with pink hair and a white scarf in the doorway with a huge grin on his face.

"We're back! Did you miss us?" he yelled out obnoxiously. He grabbed a chair and flung himself in to, knocking over a little girl with long blue hair. "Sorry, Wendy. I'm just really tired, you know?" She sighed and brushed herself off but gave him a soft affectionate smile.

"Natsu! What do you think you're doing? You can't just barge in and knock Wendy over like that!" A pretty blond girl followed the boy in and hit him upside the head. He grunted in pain and rubbed where she had hit him.

"Jeez, relax, Lucy. I didn't mean to knock her over."

"No, It's really fine, Lucy. It's my fault, I didn't see him coming." The little girl said, blushing in embarrassment.

"You mustn't try and save him, child. You need to stand up for yourself." A white cat was standing next to her with her paws on her hips. Wait, did I see that right? A talking cat was standing on two feet and talking to the girl with an extraordinary amount of maturity in her voice. I rubbed my eyes.

"Natsu, is that any way to return to your guild?" a new authoritative voice came from the doorway. I turned to look to see who was and saw a tall woman with deep crimson hair and armor on her body. She took one step towards the pink-haired boy and he seemed to cower in fear.

"Sorry, Erza. I didn't mean it like that." He said frantically trying to please her. She obviously scared the living crap out of him. Another cat appeared on his head. This one was blue. I blinked, not sure if I was seeing things or if this was real.

"We'll give you fish if you promise not to kill us." It said, trembling. The woman rolled her eyes and walked passed them and up the stairs to the second floor.

"Messing things up again, are you bone-head? It hasn't been five minutes since we got back." My heart nearly stopped at his voice. It was deeper and firmer than I remember but he was only a boy back then. My eyes connected with his face and I felt my heart rise to my throat. His jet black hair was still as unruly as ever like mine. His features had broadened and sharpened and had lost its baby fat but it was certain. Gray Fullbuster stood in the doorway.

"Who are you calling a bone-head, you icy freak?" the pink-haired boy stood up and turned to him in a fighting stance.

"You, of course, you got a problem with that?" he yelled back. They were head to head, yelling at each other. It seemed like they were going to started fighting.

"I have a problem with you and your icy face!"

"What's wrong with having an icy face? It's better than being a flaming bone-head who burned his own brains!"

"That's it, let's throw down!"

"Bring it on!"

I stared at the fight just about to unravel. The pink-haired boy's fist lit with fire and Gray took a stance that could only be used for Ice Maker Magic. So he had found a master. I had wondered if he finally learned the magic that he loved. But no one seemed concerned about this at all. The fire wizard and Gray seemed pretty serious but everyone was acting like it was normal.

"Oh, Gray! So glad you're back. There's a young lady who came looking for you." Mirajane said happily, seeming oblivious to the fight that was about to unfold. The two boys paused and stepped away from each other. They shot daggers at each other before Gray walked down the stairs towards Mirajane. She ushered him over to me and I stood up taking two large deep breaths.

Thoughts started to run through my head like a whirlwind. What if he didn't recognize me? What if he didn't care? What if he decided he no longer liked me? When we were kids, he was always the one that protected me from bullies. I was no longer that whimpering blond bimbo who always clung to Gray in a desperate attempt to have protection. What if he rejected me? Too late to have doubts now, I suppose.

I turned to him and gave him a neutral stare as he walked up to me. His eyes held no sign of recognition as he searched my eyes.

"Did you need me for something?" he asked politely. I parted my mouth slightly but no words came out. He knitted his eyebrows in confusion. Then his eyes showed a wave of recognition.

"Wait, are you the person who's been following me around everywhere?" I heard a squeak and a whimper from beside us. I turned my head to see a woman with dark blue hair and a look of affection and admiration on her face staring at Gray.

"No…" I said quietly, drawing my attention back to Gray. His shoulders sagged.

"Oh. I was hoping to find out who it was. They're getting really creepy." The girl let out another whimper after he finished. She looked hurt and sad now. I think I just solved his mystery.

"I guess, I thought you were somebody that I used to know." I said quietly, realizing that he wasn't going to recognize me. He shrugged and turned around as I let out a frustrated sigh. He took one step forward and froze. He turned around to face me again his eyes as big as saucers.

"I know that sigh." He said softly. He took three long strides to end up right in front of me. When did he get to be so tall? He was almost a foot over me staring down at me with his intense black eyes.

"Akira? Is that you?" he whispered. My breath hitched in my throat. So he had remembered me. I felt my spirits rise and sharpen all at once. It was like someone had punched me hard in the gut.

"Hey Graybie. Long time no see." I managed to let out.

I was about to say something else but I couldn't get another word out because he suddenly pulled me into a long embrace. I froze, my eyes wide as his arms dug into my back creating a sense of warmth down my spine. I stood rigid and stiff as his hold tightened. I didn't return the hug. I refused to let him in. I didn't come here to break down in front of him. I came here to… Why was I even here?

He released me and stepped back, his hands still on my shoulders. I looked up into his eyes and was surprised to see a pool of tears residing beneath them. His lips were trembling. It looked like he was looking at an angel. I was no angel. He needed to snap out of it before I started bawling too.

"How did you find me? I can't believe you're here! I thought you were dead. What have you been doing? Where have you been living?" my heart started pumping faster as his questions bombarded me. I wasn't prepared for this. I didn't want to tell him what happened to me. I should have known this would happen. I blinked and looked down, and away trying to find something to keep him from asking more questions. I blinked again and noticed the crowd forming around us.

"Um… I think you might want to introduce me to your inquiring friends, Graybie. We'll catch up later." I said quietly, feeling slightly self-conscious with all these people staring at me. He cleared his throat.

"Oh, yeah right." He turned around and faced the crowd "Guys, this is my friend, Akira. We were friends in my village." He explained. I felt my cheeks warming as the inquiring eyes turned into ones of pity.

"Wait, I thought your village was destroyed by Deliora." My heart clenched and I snapped my head in the direction of the voice that came from the boy with the pink hair. I clenched my fists.

"We both had a life before Deliora, you insensitive jerk." I hissed. I took a single step towards him but felt Gray's hand on my chest, holding me back. I narrowed my eyes and started shooting daggers at the boy. He blinked, a look of confusion passing over his face. I gritted my teeth. Man, he was asking for a beat down.

"The pink-haired pyromaniac over there is Natsu. You get used to his stupidity." Gray snarled through bared teeth. Natsu's face changed to one of anger and annoyance.

"You got a problem with my hair, you icy freak?" he retorted. Gray rolled his eyes and passed over him. He pointed to the blond girl standing next to Natsu.

"That's Lucy. She's a pretty new member of our guild but is already like family to us." She smiled uneasily and waved. I dipped my head in acknowledgement. He turned to the three people I already met.

"You already know Macao, Wakaba, and Cana. You'll usually see them here with some type of booze." Cana rolled her eyes and drank more from her barrel while the men smirked at me. Gray turned to three people standing next to Lucy. Two men and one girl. The girl was short with blue hair and a kind face. One of the men had brown hair and the other orange with a brown hat.

"That's Levy, Jet and Droy. They're a three-person team. They call themselves Team Shadow Gear." Levy smiled and waved politely. I gave them a short smile. Gray pointed to a big ripped man behind Levy. He had a lot of black hair that fell down his back like a porcupine. He had a black tattoo on his shoulder and an aggressive nature and stance.

"That's Gajeel. He's also pretty new here too. That's Wendy, and Carla." The little girl with blue hair smiled up at me with the white cat giving me a judging once-over look. "That's Elfman and Mirajane. They're siblings. And that's their little sister, Lisanna." I looked at a man with overwhelming stature/ he had a scar on his eye and the same white hair as Mirajane. The girl next to him had shorter hair and brighter blue eyes but the same hair. I could see the resemblance.

"That's pretty much everyone for now. You haven't met Erza, Laxus and the Thunder Legion or Gildarts yet but most of them are out on jobs. And Erza's upstairs in the S Class area." I froze at the name I knew.

"Gildarts?" I whispered. This was the wizard I faced off with. He had almost killed me and I only just managed to escape.

"Yeah, he's Cana's dad." My jaw dropped as I stared at her. Yes, I could see some resemblance. The same eyes. The same intense stare.

"You know my dad?" she asked, eyeing my face. I gulped and felt my cheeks warming.

"I've only heard of him. How do you forget the most powerful wizard in Fairy Tail." I said trying to cover up for my mistake of letting out too much.

"True that." She said, drinking some more. Suddenly, the woman with dark blue hair and a wild look in her eyes stepped forward holding out her hand.

"You seem to have forgotten me, Gray my love." She said her head tilting as she stared me down. She did not like me at all. I could tell immediately. Her other hand was clenched to a fist and her back was tense and rigid like she was trying to hold herself back. _My love_?

"Oh right, sorry. Akira, this is Juvia. She's fairly new as well." She grabbed my hand and shook it, her grip a little tighter than necessary.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm sure we'll be best friends. Any friend of Gray's is a friend of mine." She said a little crazily. I pulled my hand away and stepped backwards. I think this girl liked Gray. Like, _a lot_. Luckily, she wouldn't have to deal with me for much longer.

"Um… well, it was great meeting you all. It's great that I got to see you again, Gray. But I have to get home. I only dropped by to… I don't even know why. I'll see you… later, I guess." I pushed past him and started walking towards the door. Someone grabbed my forearm before I had the chance to escape.

"Hold on, Akira. You can't just expect me to let you go already. You just got here! I haven't seen you in ten years!" Gray exclaimed.

"Seven, actually." I corrected softly. He rolled his eyes.

"Whatever the number. Point is, I just got you back. I thought you were dead along with everyone else in my village. I'm not letting you go so soon. Why did you come if you were just going to leave?"

"I really don't know. Coming here wasn't even a part of the plan. I guess I had to see if what the people told me was true. I needed to see you again. So now I have. And now I need to get back to my life. This wasn't supposed to be a heart to heart. I don't know what it was supposed to be, but there you have it. I need to leave." I pulled my arm out of his grasp and started for the door again.

"Wait, please." This time, he grabbed my shoulder. "Please don't go yet. Stay for a few days. We need to do something. Just the two of us like old times. I want to know how you've been getting on. And I'm sure you want to know what I've been up to. Please stay for a few days." His voice was pleading and imploring. I felt my throat tighten. I did want to know how he was doing. A few days wouldn't hurt, right? Albian could wait a few more days.

"Ok…" I said finally. "I'll stay a few days. But that's it. I leave right after, okay? I really do need to get back." He grinned at me and pulled me into another hug.

"Of course. I'm just so happy I have you back." I sighed into his shoulder. He didn't know me anymore. I wasn't the same girl I was seven years ago. Gray had changed too, but not as much as me. I didn't know if he would accept me for who I was now.


	2. Chapter 2: Changed for the Better

**_Reviews will be very much appreciated:) Enjoy!_**

Chapter 2—Changed for the Better

I spent the rest of the day learning about everyone else but giving away minimal information about myself. I learned that Gajeel, Wendy and Natsu were Dragon slayers. Their magic was unique because they specialized in a specific element that was their power source for fuel. For example, Natsu was the fire dragon slayer. He ate fire to boost his energy and could use only fire magic but didn't need to recite a spell or an enchantment. Gajeel was the Iron dragon slayer and Wendy, the shy dragon slayer.

Their magic was called dragon slayer magic because it had the power to defeat or slay dragons. But I learned that the three of them were brought up by their respective dragon Igneel, Grendina, and Metallicana. However I also learned that seven years ago, these dragons up and vanished on the same day at the same time. It was sad because these dragons were literally parents to these people.

I learned that Lucy was a Celestial Wizard and had already collected ten of the twelve zodiac keys. I thought that was pretty impressive. She was in possession of the leader of the zodiac spirits, Leo. I thought that was considerably impressive. She could summon spirits from a spirit world to do her fighting by using keys. She had to make contracts with these spirits first, though.

I learned that Cana used card magic and Macao and his son Romeo both used a type of fire magic. Juvia was what people called the 'rain woman'. She used water magic and I was surprised to learn that her body was made entirely of water so it was tough to beat her. Levy used script magic, Jet used speed magic and I still wasn't sure what magic Droy used. It just seemed to me that the two of them tried desperately to get Levy to fall in love with them but she seemed to have eyes for Gajeel.

Both Elfman and Lisanna used what was called take-over magic where they were able to transform into an animal or a beast to fight. Mirajane used a very special kind of take-over magic that turned into a She-Devil so to speak. She was one of the so-called S Class wizards. There were only a handful of them. They were the most powerful wizards in Fairy Tail and could go on harder jobs than the others.

The two cats, Carla and Happy, used Aerial magic that allowed them to fly. Happy was Natsu's cat and best friend and Carla was Wendy's. I learned that Gajeel had a flying cat too named Panther Lily but most people called him Lily. I learned that Lily had a bigger form where he could turn into a fully grown, tall panther for a certain amount of time depending on the amount of magic power he had. I learned that he and Gajeel had fought once before and neither of them had won. It was a draw.

Gray told me about his past and how he was taught by the most powerful Ice wizard named Ul. I was shocked to hear that she had cast an Iced Shell over the demon Deliora who had destroyed our village. She trapped the demon in a sphere of ice for years sacrificing her own life to do so. Gray told me about his other apprentice who tried to revive Deliora only to find out that Deliora had been dead for months before. The iced shell that used to be Gray's master had flown into the sea.

I remember wanting nothing more than to destroy Deliora forever after I was saved by Albian. He told me that I needed to wait until I was strong enough to go after it. By the time I was even close to ready, I was already too busy with everything he had put me through. I had almost forgotten about Deliora.

Gray had stayed at my side the whole day. He would reach around me to touch my shoulder like he was making sure I was real. He would squeeze my hand from time to time, looking at me in awe and admiration and the utmost joy. I felt myself leaning on him a few times like I used to do. I would fall asleep against him sometimes and he would carry me home. I realized I missed him more than I would dare to let on.

I was leaning on the bar with gray talking to someone next to him. I stared at his hand on the table. I had to admit, it looked not only a lot bigger than before but a whole lot more calloused and strong. I found myself holding it and playing with his fingers the way I used to. I caught myself and looked up to see Gray smiling down at what I was doing. I dropped his hand immediately.

"Sorry." I said, my cheeks warming.

"Don't be." He said, taking my hand and playing with my fingers like I had been doing. I laughed and punched his arm. He lightly punched me back. He eyed my face some more, lost in thought.

"You never told me what magic you use." He said finally. I blushed and looked away, my chest hardening and my smile erased from my face.

"You're right, I didn't." I said, leaving no indication that I was going to. My magic was a different kind than most people. Albian had taught me the most efficient type of magic that would get me the most money. He had trained me to fight not only with magic but also without it like with swords, and guns alike.

"Well, it's getting late. You can stay at Lucy's house if you want. She won't mind. Right, Lucy?" he called out to her. She looked over to us and hesitated but finally nodded, standing up with Natsu and Happy. Gray led me out and I turned away from him for a mere second. When I turned around again, he had taken his shirt off. I raised my eyebrows and stepped back.

"Gray! Your clothes!" Someone yelled. He gasped and looked down at himself as if he didn't even realize he had taken it off. But he made not move to put it back on. Natsu pressed his shirt against his chest.

"Put it back on, you filthy pervert." He snarled. Just as Gray was about to talk back, I interrupted.

"Actually, leave it off. I like it better with it off." I said taking the shirt away from him. His cheeks tingled pink and he rubbed the back of his head.

"Thanks, Akira. Sorry about it. It's a habit Ul drove into me. I can't get rid of it." He said sheepishly. I laughed. My eyes suddenly locked on his chain around his neck. It was a cross. I knew that chain. I gave it to him for his birthday back all those years ago. I felt myself blushing again.

"You kept it…" I whispered.

"Hmm?" he asked. Then he noticed where I was looking and he blushed as well, touching it. "Yeah, I did." I swallowed and looked away locking eyes with Juvia. She was shooting daggers at me. I rolled my eyes and looked away, turning towards the door.

"So are we leaving?" I asked, walking out, not really caring if the others followed me. Gray fell into step beside me with Natsu and Lucy on the other side. Happy flew over us making stupid comments about fish now and then.

We walked by the river I had passed earlier and I glanced at myself in the reflection next to Gray. He really was so much taller than me. And since when did he get abs? I had to admit they were something else to look at. Wait, what?

Snap out of it, Akira. This is Graybie, we're talking about. You've never thought of him that way and you never will.

We stopped in front of an apartment building. Lucy turned around and glared at Gray and Natsu.

"Okay, we're here. Now go away. And don't even think about sneaking in in the middle of the night." She scolded, waving a finger in front of Natsu's face. He raised his hands in surrender and trudged off with Happy flying behind him. Gray smiled and pulled me into the third hug of the day. I gritted my teeth, not exactly pleased with that fact. No one ever got close enough to me to get to hug me. It was unsettling.

"See you tomorrow, Akira. And you need to tell me more about you tomorrow. I could tell you were holding back on me today." He planted a kiss on the top of my head. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Graybie. See you tomorrow." I pulled away and turned around to follow Lucy in her apartment, wiping away a tear I didn't even know fell.

Lucy led me into her room and pulled out a spare floor mattress. She began to set it up in her living room and made small talk about how Natsu, Gray, and Erza liked to break into her apartment. She talked to me about her spirits but I wasn't really paying attention.

I went to the window and watched Gray walking down the street, his hands in his pockets. He was looking at the sky and grinning stupidly like he had received the best Christmas present in the world. I felt myself smiling and internally giggling.

I gasped and stepped back from the window, mentally slapping myself. Stop it, Akira. You're not here to become attached. You're here to catch up and then you have to get back to your life. You can't afford any more distractions. If you don't pay off your debt to Albian… there's no telling what he'd do to you.

"So where did you find out that Gray was still alive?" Lucy asked me, passing me some pajamas. I took them and began to strip down to put them on.

"I passed by a village on a job and I found out that he had been there with his master and her other pupil. I found out from them that he had moved to Magnolia and was a member of Fairy Tail. So I came here to find him. I guess I had to know if it was true." I explained.

"Are you a member of a guild?" she asked, searching my body for a guild mark. I clenched my left hand where Albian had left his mark.

"Sort of." I said vaguely.

"Oh really? Which one?" she asked again. She seemed innocent but I suspected that she was trying to press for more information.

"One that's far from here." I said even more vaguely. She said nothing afterwards and crawled into her bed.

"Well, I'm glad you found Gray. I've never seen him look that happy to see someone. It's refreshing. But I'm sure you've changed a lot since then like he has. I just hope not too much. Goodnight." She said rolling over. I crawled under my covers as well and stared at the ceiling pondering her words.

Gray had changed just as much as me. He had made so many friends whereas I hadn't even made one. He had people he could count on when I had no one. His magic had grown so powerful like mine. He had more experiences with love and friendship than I had and he had grown as a person whereas I had hardened my exterior and refused to let anyone in.

Yep, we both changed. But he changed for the better and me for the worst. I guess I wasn't expecting any different. You really can't beat how much I had changed for the worst. I didn't know what I was expecting. I couldn't even begin to describe my emotions when I found out he was alive. I thought I was the only survivor and wanted nothing more than vengeance. It poisoned my mind and I let Albian reel me in.

Little did I know, he services would need to be repaid? So now I'm thousands of jewels in debt and I had no way to repay him except do what he taught me. Albian, being the master of the Assassin's guild, taught me to do the one thing no one thought a girl like me was capable of. He taught me to kill. He taught me to be okay with killing. And I was okay with killing. Most of the time. And that's why I'm terrified of Gray finding out about me.

He would reject me, disgusted by what I had become. A killer. A murderer. Assassin.

I rolled over and brushed away the tears I knew were about to fall and closed my eyes, trying to rid my head of unpleasant thoughts. I was, however, unsuccessful as my dreams were haunted by nightmares of the near future. Gray's rejecting eyes, Albian's cold threats, and Deliora's excruciating roar.

I gasped and jerked awake, sitting up. I heard the sound of running water and could only assume that Lucy was in the bath. I looked up at the window and shielded my eyes from the bright light shining through it. I didn't even realize it was morning. It barely felt like an hour. My body felt like it had been hit by a train.

"Hey, good morning, Gray's old friend." I gasped and jumped slightly at the voice next to me. I stood up abruptly and my defense mechanism in my brain was activated. Words began to scroll across my face, my eyes singling in on the face of the pink-haired freak, Natsu. I blinked, pushing away the magic from my eyes. It wasn't needed. It was just this stupid freak show.

"What are you doing in here? Won't Lucy freak out when she finds out you've broken in again?" I hissed, grabbing the covers to shield my revealing body. I was wearing pajama shorts and a tank top that Lucy had given me. I felt naked. I grabbed my clothes from yesterday held them to my chest.

"She won't care. And even if she does, she's used to it by now. Right, Happy?" he asked, scratching the back of his head. The cat appeared next to him, nibbling on a piece of fish.

"Aye, sir!" he yelled out obnoxiously. I gave both of them a dirty look and stepped by them only to ram into what felt like a metal wall. I stumbled backwards and looked up to see the woman in armor with the red hair. She crossed her arms.

"I never got the chance to formally meet you. My name is Erza Scarlett." She held out her hand. I glanced at it hesitantly.

"Why are you in here as well? I thought an S Class wizard such as yourself should have more class than to rudely break into someone's home." I found myself snarling. What was I doing? This was Erza Scarlett or as they like to call her, Titania Erza. She dropped her hand and placed it on a hit of a sword that seemed to appear out of nowhere. My magic began to activate on its own accord. The words began to scroll across my vision.

Erza Scarlett (Titania)

Magic: Reequip Skills—faster than any wizard

Trigger: Friendship (Fairy Tail); Love (Jellal)

Strength: Empress Armor; use of knowledge and intelligence

Weakness: Reequip time

"Hey, Akira, the bathroom's open if you want a bath!" I heard Lucy call, interrupting the words across my face. I blinked and stepped back as Erza's hand fell off her sword. She gave me a glare and went over to Lucy's bed. I walked towards the bathroom, passing Lucy on the way.

I locked the bathroom door and leaned against the door breathing hard. I never meant to be so harsh and mean. I guess the nightmare I had had was still pushing against my skull to the point where I was acting against my own will. My archive magic seemed to pick up a love interest in a wizard named Jellal. I had heard of the name. He had created a terrible system called the R system to revive the Black Wizard Zeref. I shook my head. I didn't need to know about Erza. I wasn't going to fight her and I wasn't going to be around long enough to ask her about it.

I took a quick bath and pulled on my clothes. I looked into the mirror and brushed my hair. It used to be a bright blond that seemed golden in the sun. Now it had blue highlights through it and you could barely tell how beautiful it had been before. My eyes matched the blue. It was a cold icy blue that didn't come across as a pretty trait. It seemed almost evil. Just like me.

I pushed the bathroom door open and walked out, a new found strength in me. Don't let anything out. Don't let them see you. You're leaving today.

Lucy, Natsu, Erza and Happy were all sitting in the living room with breakfast. Lucy smiled at me as I came into view. Natsu paid me no attention and Erza gave me a hard, wary look. She didn't trust me. I really didn't mind that.

"Morning, Akira." I jumped and whirled around to see Gray standing in the doorway, without a shirt, once again. My eyes lingered on his chest a second too long. He started towards me, about to pull me into a hug again. I stepped backwards, avoiding his searching arms.

"Morning, Gray." I said passively, stepping around him, trying to get away. I took a seat next to Natsu because he seemed like the person who would be the least likely to get through to me. He held out some chicken he was eating. I wrinkled my nose at the chewed up food and shook my head.

"No thanks." I said sourly. He shrugged and continued to eat like a gorilla. I looked up to see Gray take a seat next to Erza. He seemed slightly hurt from then way I was pushing him away. Not that he should have been surprised. He knew I had changed. He just didn't know how much.

"So I was thinking, today I'll introduce you to the rest of the guild and then you and I can go see the town. I want to show you what Magnolia has to offer." Gray said. I heard the hint in his voice. He wanted me to stay here with him. That was never going to happen.

"Sure, sounds good." I said elusively. I looked down and bit into some bread. I took a few bites and I felt full. I left my barely eaten bread and stood up as the others began to talk about their last job.

"We were supposed to escort some gold from one town to the other but we were ambushed. It was so stupid, those thieves had it coming to them." Natsu was saying.

"It shouldn't have taken you so long to beat them, Natsu. Or maybe I overestimated you." Erza said next.

"I was having a little fun with them. Can you blame me? I haven't had a decent fight since forever." Natsu replied. Gray scoffed.

"You want a fight, I'll give you a good beat down." He said challenging. I smirked as Natsu snarled.

"You think I'll get beat by someone as weak as you?"

"You think I'm weak? I'll give you what for!"

"Bring it on, ice freak. I'm not scared!"

"Consider it brought, you pyro!"

"Boys!" Erza stepped between them and shoved them both to the side. They flew backwards and collapsed into Lucy's furniture. She squealed out and sank to her knees.

"My furniture…" she whispered.

"That is quite enough. Just imagine what our guest is thinking of the two of you!" Gray stood up and scratched the back of his neck, sheepishly. Natsu just looked annoyed. He crossed his arms and looked away in embarrassment.

"Sorry." They both said in unison. I stifled a giggle at the power Erza had over the two of them.

"No, please continue. It's actually pretty entertaining." I said, hiding my laugh by turning it into a cough. They looked at me, stunned for a second. Then they joined me in laughing and we left Lucy's apartment in good spirits.

We walked down the sidewalk and headed for the guild. Gray walked next to me again, his hand sometimes brushing against mine as if he was still trying to make sure I was still here. I pulled my hand away and shoved them into my pockets when his fingers brushed against my hands again. He needed to stop doing this. I was on the point of crumbling into him the way I always knew I could. But I wouldn't anymore.

We finally arrived at the guild. Gray took my hand without my permission and led me in, grinning from ear to ear like he had won the ultimate prize. Heads turned in our direction and I recognized most of them. Mirajane smiled and waved at us. The others just sort of turned around like they were used to our grand entrance.

Juvia suddenly appeared in front of me with a murderous look on her face. She glared at our intertwined hands. I pulled my hand away from Gray as she began to melt my soul with her eyes.

"Hey, Juvia." Gray said uneasily. He obviously knew about her obsession with him he just chose not to let her down. He was going to get himself killed one of these days.

"What's going on here, Gray darling? Did something happen between you two?" she inquired in a fake kind voice. I smirked and looked up to see what Gray was going to say. His blushed and looked anywhere but in her eyes.

"No, I don't know what you're talking about." He said uneasily. Then he jumped to attention "Oh, hey Gramps! Akira, come on, let's meet the master." He grabbed my arm and pulled me away hastily. I gave Juvia a finger wave and smirked at her. She was turning a nasty shade of purple in rage. I almost burst out laughing.

"Akira, meet Master Makarov, or as I like to call him, Gramps." I turned around to be looking down at really short old man. He had a firm but kind face. The top of his head was bald but he still had tufts of white hair sticking out and a white mustache.

"Hello. Welcome to Fairy Tail. I understand you are a long lost friend of Gray's? it's so nice that you two found each other." He said kindly. I smiled and shook his hand.

Suddenly, the double doors were slammed open with a loud bang. Everyone whirled around to look at the door and I almost fainted. No… it couldn't be.

Two men stood at the door. These were men I knew. And they were here for me.


	3. Chapter 3: Rejected

_**A/N: Sorry for not posting sooner, been a hectic couple of weeks. Enjoy:)**_

Chapter 3—Rejected

The two men scanned the area until their eyes landed on me. Then they smirked. One of them had spiky red hair and big black eyes with a pick ax as a weapon. The other had two long scars down his face where a dragon had scratched his face. They were from Albian's assassin's guild. They were here for me.

"Look who we found, Pickaxe." The one with scars said. "It's Akira Bellfront. She's not supposed to be here is she?" he asked smoothly. Everyone's eyes turned to me. I felt Gray stiffen next to me.

"Oh dear, Brand, you're right. She shouldn't be here. Let's just hope she has the money she owes Albian. Otherwise things could get ugly couldn't they?" Pickaxe replied. I clenched my fists as Makarov drew in a sharp breath. He knew who Albian was, so he could fit the pieces together. I was caught.

"Why are you guys here? Did he send you?" I snarled. Both of them laughed and stepped inside. By now, the whole guild had realized this was not good news. They had paused in their conversation and were focused on what was happening in front of them.

"You bet he did. And you better hope you have the money. He ordered us to take you with us if you didn't. He kind of wants to talk to you himself." Brand said smirking. I clenched my fists.

"I need more time. It's only been three months since he told me about it. It's harder than you'd think to find jobs that pay five hundred thousand jewels." I said taking another step forward.

"Three months is more than enough. If you just took the jobs he offered you, you wouldn't be in this mess. But no, you had to go and grow a heart." Pickaxe snapped at me. I cringed as he raised his pick ax.

"Just come with us, quietly and we won't have to cause any trouble." Brand said. Gray suddenly stepped in front of me. I gasped as he took fighting stance.

"If you want her, you'll have to go through me." He hissed. I grabbed his shoulder and pulled him backwards.

"You idiot! Stay out of this, this is my fight!" I shoved him behind me and heard him fall along with the master. I stepped forward and my archive magic was activated.

"You can tell Albian to kiss my ass because there's no way in hell I'll go with you." The words began to scroll across my face and I started to concentrate.

Brand Frenzy

Magic: Summoning Nightmares

Trigger: Money

Strength: Controlling from Afar

Weakness: Close Combat

My hand closed around a dagger I had made appear out of thin air and I charged. Brand threw his arms out and magic circle appeared under my feet. I jumped and somersaulted in mid-air using a stored wind magic to avoid the nightmares that he was vesting on me. I landed right in front of him and struck hard. He groaned and fell over after the first two blows. I turned to Pickaxe and analyzed him as well.

Pickaxe Davis

Magic: Weapon Enhancement

Trigger: Money and Threats

Strength: Attacking First

Weakness: Unprotected Body

A shield appeared in my hand from my archives. I raised it as he swung his pick ax. It hit and I used a stored glue magic to stick it to the shield. I pulled the shield away from him and threw it behind me. I flew across the guild hall, taking his pick ax with it. A sword appeared in my hand and I struck him hard. He fell over, unconscious.

I stepped back, staring at the two unconscious men, admiring my handiwork. I was taught to kill but I had learned to control the urge to eradicate my enemies enough where I only knocked them out. My shield and sword disappeared back into my archives. The whole guild was silent. I turned around to face everyone. They all stared at me in awe. Gray had pulled himself off the ground and was staring at me in disbelief.

"What kind of magic was that?" Someone asked. I think it was Wakaba but I wasn't paying attention.

"It's a type of archive magic." I said looking at my feet. "It allows me to see my opponent's strengths and weaknesses and use stored magic and weapons at my disposal to beat them." I said softly.

"Where did you learn this kind of magic?" Makarov advanced towards me in disbelief and distrust. I looked up and looked him in the eye.

"You know." I said quietly. He exhaled and closed his eyes.

"I was hoping it wasn't true. How dare you set foot here? Your kind aren't welcome in this guild." He said menacingly. My _kind_? Does he think we're a race of some sort? But I wasn't going to disagree. I looked down in shame.

"I never meant to cause trouble. I'm sorry I ever came here. I'll leave now. I've been here too long already." I turned around about to head for the door.

"Wait! Akira, no!" Gray's voice pierced my heart like a knife. I closed my eyes and continued to exit. "Akira, please. You don't have to be ashamed of whatever it is you are. You found me for a reason and I don't think you meant any harm of it. Please don't go, I don't care what that was about. I only care about you." My heart clenched and a single tear drop fell from my face.

"No, Gray. She needs to leave. She needs to leave now. You don't know what she is and when you do I'm afraid you will lose all hope in her." Makarov's voice said soothingly.

"I don't care! Please just don't go. I just got you back." I heard footsteps and could only assume he was coming after me.

"I have one question before you go, Akira." Makarov said. I turned around to see him holding Gray back but staring at me with a grave expression. "How many people?" he asked. How many people? How many people have I killed?

"Seven." I whispered. He drew in a sharp intake of breath and looked down. "I can't bring them back. I can't apologize to their families. I'm not saying it's not my fault. But since Albian's training ended, I refused to take on any job from his guild. I'm not proud of what I did. But it's the best I could do considering what I had to work with. Not everyone is as lucky as Gray to have found people who care." Makarov lifted his chin but said nothing.

I sighed and turned around, heading for the door. I stopped at Pickaxe and Brand's bodies. I looked down at the mark on their neck, identical to mine. It was burned into our skin by Albian when we joined the assassin's guild. I clenched my fists. How could I let him do this to me? Why was I so blind? I already knew the answer to that question. I just hated that I let my thirst for vengeance cloud my judgment.

In a fit of rage, I kicked Pickaxe in the side.

"Wake up, you infernal creep. It's time to leave." I hissed down at him. He groaned and his eyes fluttered open. He took one glance at me and scoffed, turning his head to the side in disgust.

"Get up. You can resent me later. Right now, we need to get out of here." I said again, shoving him over with my foot. He grumbled and sat up rubbing his head.

"What, aren't you going to let your little friends to finish us off? You certainly can't do it yourself you yellow-bellied drop out." I clenched my fists and crouched down so I was at eye level with him. I grabbed the scruff of his neck and pulled his face close to me.

"Don't test me, Pickaxe. You came to me with no grounds, threatening my life when you had no chance of carrying out your threat. You better do as you're told or I might change my mind about showing mercy. You certainly don't deserve it. Now, _get up_." I shoved him down roughly and stood back up. Pickaxe groaned again and did as he was told without another word. He lifted Brand onto his shoulders and we left, the silence behind me almost deafening.

Pickaxe followed me, limping with Brand over his shoulder. We walked down the crowded streets of Magnolia in a tense silence. I had no idea what I was going to do. I guess the plan now, was to go back to Eeldor and rejoin the assassin's guild. When I left, I wasn't able to take the mark off me. He had branded me with fire. The letter 'A' was burned onto my wrist. It was permanent. As was my link to Albian. I can't ever escape from him.

So I have to go back. I have to face the consequences he has in store for me. I gritted my teeth. I wish I had died when my village was destroyed. Gray had no need for me anyway. He was happy where he was and he thought I was dead. I guess I deserved this. I killed seven people. And willingly because I thought it would help me kill Deliora. Now I found out he's already dead and has been for years. What am I supposed to do with that information? It's like telling me that everything I've done in life was for nothing.

Pickaxe yelled at me to slow down as Brand started to wake up. I stopped and leaned on the wall of a building and watched as Pickaxe set Brand on the ground. He groaned and sat up, blinking rapidly. I rolled my eyes and looked away as realization dawned on him and he looked in my direction.

My eyes latched onto a little girl and a little boy playing together in the streets. She had her hair a small pigtails and he was teasing her and pulling on them. I smiled as they began to wrestle each other in glee. She pinned him on the ground and began to shove leaves in his face. They laughed together and their parents came around to take them away. I watched the little girl go, skipping away, free and innocent as ever.

I was like that once. Gray and I both were like that. We played together like that. Sometimes, others would join us and I would slip away, shy and concealed and unable to stand up for myself. I used to put my hair in pigtails just like her. My parents used to pull me away from Gray like they would a dog from his bone. How did I become so corrupt and despicable? I've never been mean-hearted. Not until the day when I realized that everyone I knew and loved were dead. And there was someone to blame. Deliora.

I still remember his roar and his stature like it was yesterday. I have nightmares about it all the time. I cry out in pain when I wake which is why I hate sleeping with others. I remember my room crashing down on top of me and my parents just being able to get me out in time. I was shoved outside and my house falling down only inches next to my tiny body. My parents still remained inside and they were crushed.

I remember looking up and seeing a ferocious beast that I couldn't describe in words ripping through the town mercilessly. I wanted to scream but my lungs were being compressed by a piece of wall from my house that had fallen on top of me in the chaos. Deliora left, leaving my town in ruins. I would've died if I had been there for much longer. But then, about an hour later, Albian and his men showed up and found me under the ruckus. If it hadn't been for them, I would have been crushed like the rest of my town.

Well, almost the rest. Save for Gray who happened to be on the other side of the town, getting rescued by better people.

Pickaxe and Brand shuffled up behind me, muttering something about how much they hated taking orders from me. I pretended not to hear their insults and started on towards the train station. Pickaxe fell into step beside me and stole a glance in my direction. I gave him a look that had bigger men cower in fear.

"What do you want, Pickaxe?" I hissed, my hand closing around a dagger from my archives.

"Why would you beat us up if you were going to come with us anyway?" he asked. Brand stepped in on my other side with the same inquiring face.

"I needed to teach you two a lesson of course. It's not up to you to decide when I come home. Besides, I would've stayed if you hadn't mentioned Albian. The master of that guild knew about me so I could no longer stay. And if Albian had sent you two buffoons after me, there's no doubt he'll send others. It was only a matter of time before he came himself."

"Smart girl." Brand said, teasingly. I rounded on him and his smug look faded as he took one look at my expression.

"Don't take this the wrong way, your punishment for what you did to me and my friend is not over. Oh, no. it has only begun." I said menacingly. I was only half joking. But they took it seriously. As they should. They fell back behind me like two dogs with their tails between their legs.

We arrived at the train station in silence as we walked up to the ticket box. Brand went and purchased three tickets to Eeldor scheduled to leave in an hour. Then they both went to the bar on the other side of the station leaving me alone, sitting on a bench and watching the people walk in and out of the station. I started to play with my magic out of boredom.

Jenny Macintosh

Magic: None

Trigger: Bad Hair Day

Strength: Prom Dress

Weakness: Absence of Makeup

I held in a snigger as a girl with a really frilly dress walked by me, giving me a nasty glare as she passed. I smirked and watched her trip over her own dress. She straightened herself out and continued to walk as though she was above everyone else.

Maybe this was a bad way to use my magic. I was abusing it and using it for my entertainment. But I could never find it in me to care. All my life, I've only had this magic as my comfort, my entertainment. Albian used to tell me that the magic I practiced was the most unique in the world. He used to say that I could only scratch the surface of its power. So what was stopping me from using it as much as possible to tap into the true extent of its power?

At least, that is what I told myself.

I looked up to see Pickaxe and Brand staring at me. I sneered at them and they immediately looked down. We grew up together. I knew most of their quirks and flaws but it never hurt to use my archives just to be safe. I hated them so much. They gave me so much grief because I got private lessons with Albian. They didn't like the fact that me, a little girl picked up from a rundown town, got private attention from the master himself.

It was surprising though. I never knew why Albian took interest in me. And I was the only one who used the same magic as him. But there was nothing of him in me. At least, I didn't think. I wasn't a cold-blooded killer like him. Yes, I have killed. But I had a conscience. Sort of.

I raked my hand through my hair. Enough thinking, Akira. It's bad for you.

I felt their eyes on me again as soon as I looked away. They were probably wondering why I was even in Magnolia in the first place. Why did they find me in the most powerful light guild in Fiore anyway? But they didn't need to know. No one could know. If Albian ever found out about Gray he would use him against me. He knew I had a soft spot in my past.

I felt my eyes roll to the back of my head as my archives activated my self-defense mechanism when I sleep. My body sometimes activated itself when I needed a shut down. Sometimes, I wouldn't even know it was happening.

I woke up half an hour later to the sound of someone yelling at me. Words scrolled across my vision instantaneously. I sat up and a dagger appeared in my hand. I grabbed the first piece of fabric that was, surprisingly, only a mere six inches away and pressed my knife against it.

"Whoa! Whoa! Relax, Bellfront! The train's about to leave. Just thought you should know." Brand's hoarse voice rang though my ears and I took hold of myself before I did any damage.

"Fine. Next time, wake me from as far away as possible. You know how I get." I hissed unmercifully. He stepped back as I released his coat. Why was he so close to me in the first place? He knows about me. It didn't matter anyway.

I stood up and shoved him backwards, giving him a death glare before stalking past him. Pickaxe stared at me silently as I walked by him. I rolled my eyes, slightly annoyed at their attention. I walked up to the platform and gave the officer my ticket. He passed me and I boarded the train.

I picked a seat in the back of the car close to the window. I leaned against the window and looked outside, waiting for the train to start. Pickaxe and Brand sat across from me. They avoided my face with everything they had but still stole glances at me every now and then. They were pathetic.

Finally, after another twenty minutes, the train left the station. I started to think about what Gray was doing back at the guild. I was pretty sure the master was telling him all about me and my horrible lifestyle. He probably hated m now. Not that I blamed him, I would hate me too. I still remember our days together as kids. We were only eleven when Deliora attacked. I spent a decade with him, growing up with him.

Loving him…

Tears pricked the back of my eyes. I blinked them back, trying to get ahold of myself. I couldn't lose control now. Not now, not ever. Yes, I loved Gray when I was merely a child. I could never love him now. Not only could I never love him, but he could never love me. Not now, not ever.

The train was well on its way, and Pickaxe had already stocked up on snacks from the food cart. They were pigging out on some candy when the train jerked backwards. Everyone gasped and I grabbed my seat to keep me from falling. The train jerked once more before slowing to a complete stop. My eyes narrowed as we sat, waiting for a notification.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we pardon any inconveniences, but the engine room is having some technical difficulties." A woman's voice echoed through the train. "It will be a few hours before they allow us to depart once more. We have stopped in the town of Caldera. Please feel free to visit the sights while we are in town. Once again, we apologize for any inconveniences this may have caused you." She informed us. I rolled my eyes and stood up.

"Well, looks like we're going to be here a while. May as well make the most of it, right?" Brand said, standing up with Pickaxe. I let out a frustrated sigh.

"Let's just hope Albian doesn't mind this slight delay." I said, more to myself than to them. I looked outside and sighed.

God, I hated how this was just dragging itself out. I wanted to get to Albian to finish what I started already. It's about time I quit thinking and faced something.


	4. Chapter 4: Whatever it Takes

**_I'm baaack! Please leave a review if you liked it! Love you people!_**

Chapter 4—Whatever it takes

_Gray_

I almost cried out when she left, taking those two buffoons with her. The performance she had just put on left the whole guild speechless. That was no ordinary magic she used. But it wasn't dark magic or forbidden magic. I had no idea what it was. Seeing her again was… something I never dreamed of happening. Everything she was now was so… different from before.

I rounded on Gramps.

"What's going on? What was that? Why did you kick her out?" I shot at him. He held up a hand. He looked distraught. He rubbed his hand through his aging hair. I clenched my fists. I needed answers now.

"Master, I need to know. Please…" I pleaded. He sighed and looked me in the eye. I was almost appalled to see he had tears in his eyes. I looked around to see the others looking just as shocked and terrified as me. Erza stepped forward but paused. She didn't know what to do. None of us did.

"Gray, that girl is not who you think she is." The master said quietly. I turned to him again.

"What are you talking about? Her name is Akira Bellfront. She's my best friend in the whole world and I know her, inside and out." I said firmly. My voice cracked on the last word. I was trying to convince myself more than anyone else. Akira was my best friend. She was alive.

But I couldn't hide the fact that she had changed. How much, I didn't know. But the way she kept trying to pull away from me. The way she never talked about herself or allowed herself to touch me. The blue in her hair matched her eyes but they had grown weary. They no longer held the same bright spark like they did when we were kids.

I almost lost myself after our village was destroyed. I can only imagine what happened to her after she found out Deliora was to blame. She didn't show much emotion when I told her Deliora was dead, but it was there. Relief, guilt, pain, anger, anguish. That's how I felt when I found out he was dead and had been for years after Ul had sacrificed herself.

"Gray, sit down. This is a matter that needs to be discussed with the entire guild. It may affect all of us." The master said solemnly. He walked up to the bar and stood on top of. I sat down clumsily next to Natsu like I was in a daze. He was quiet and grave. There was certain seriousness in his eyes that I don't usually see.

"As you all know, there are many guilds in this land. The majority of them form a coalition known as the light guilds with a Magic Council as their governing leader. Then there are some that broke off from the coalition, known as Dark Guilds. Among these dark guilds are what are called Assassins guilds." He let that information sink in before continuing on.

"Now, about fifty years ago, a man… well not so much as a man, more as a… monster… built a secret assassin guild and built up a network of allies and members all over the globe. This man's name is Albian. Very few people know this guild exists and it is one of the most dangerous guilds in all of Fiore. Albian trains his members to be master killers, or assassins if you will. No one, in fifty years knows the location or the identity of the people in this guild, nor the location of the guild hall itself."

I raised my hand and talked over him, ignoring the disappointed glare I received from Erza.

"This is all fascinating but I still don't see how it has anything to do with Akira." Heads turned in my direction and Lucy, sitting across from me, hissed at me to hold my tongue. I gave her a look and she looked away. The master bowed his head.

"I was just getting to that. The magic Albian practices is a deadly one. It is neither dark, nor forbidden, or lost. It is invented. He conjured it himself and to this day, no one knows how he did it. This sort of magic allows him to read his enemy thoroughly. It allows him to see and exploit their strengths and weaknesses. it also allows him to store different weapons, and magic in an ex-quip fashion. He has every known weapon and magic known in this land stored and can beat anyone, no matter their skill level."

"That's the same magic Akira used…" I whispered. I felt like screaming. I felt like hitting myself on the head with a bat. How could I have been so stupid?

"That's correct, Gray, it is. Now, from the evidence picked up over the years, we know that Albian doesn't take apprentices. No one uses the same magic as he does. So why is it, that a young girl found under the ruble of a destroyed city be given special treatment by the master of the most deadly assassin's guild in the kingdom of Fiore? From all this, we can at least assume that Albian has trained your friend and taught her how do be a killer."

I shook my head, gripping my head in my hands. I didn't want it to be true. It couldn't be true. My Akira couldn't be a murderer. I knew her. She was always happy and excited to see me. Her eyes sparkled in the sunlight whenever she laughed. Maybe she was shy at times, but she was always there. Always bubbly and happy. She was not a murderer.

"No… she's not… she's not…" I croaked. I choked up a sob. Someone's hand appeared on my shoulder and my whole body racked with guilt and betrayal. Then something popped into my head. Something she said when those two men showed up.

_It's only been three months since he told me about it. It's harder than you'd think to find jobs that pay five hundred thousand jewels_

"She owes him money." I said, lifting my head up. I turned around to face the master who was staring at me gravely. "She was in debt. She had to be there. She didn't have a choice. That has to be it. It's not her choice to be there!" I stood up, my eyes lighting up. The master shook his head.

"No, Gray, stop it. You can't start this—" the master grabbed my arm but I ripped it away.

"This is perfect! All we have to do, id get her back here! She'll do jobs and save up on money to pay him back and then she'll be free! Gramps it's perfect! Please, you have to trust me on this one. She'll never—"

"Gray! Stop this! She's a murderer! Didn't you hear her? She's killed seven people, Gray. Seven people!" he grabbed my shoulders and shook me. He only reached my waist but used his magic to extend his arms long enough to reach my shoulders. I froze, his words sinking in. my brain was refusing to accept it.

"No… it… doesn't matter. She… she didn't have a choice!" I pulled away and faced the back of the guild. She didn't have a choice. She couldn't have had a choice. Akira would never have done that.

"Gray, I understand how you must be feeling, but enough is enough. You will not bring her back here, and you will not go looking for her. Anything you want to do that has to do with her will not be happening. Do I make myself clear?" he looked me in the eye and I could see how dead serious he was. I shook my head.

"I can't just let her go—"

"Gray, the master has forbidden it. You have to obey his wishes." Erza drew her sword and pointed it at my neck. "Or face the consequences." I rolled my eyes and pushed her sword away.

"You don't scare me, Erza. Not anymore. This is real for me. This isn't some rule-breaking charade thing like last time. This is about someone I care about. Someone I might even—" I was caught mid-sentence by Erza gutting me in the stomach. I gasped and hunched over, feeling the air leave my body.

"You need to take a breather and think about this. I'm sorry, Gray. You're getting out of hand." She whispered over me. Sometimes I forgot how freaking strong she was. I felt myself blacking out.

"Not… this time…" I hissed before completely falling into darkness.

I woke up in my room at my house. I sat up and winced at the pain in my stomach. I looked around and almost fell over when I saw Juvia sitting not two feet away from me. I jerked backwards pressing my bare back against the wall next to my bed.

"Holy… what are you doing here?" I gasped. She grinned at me, eyeing my chest longer than necessary. I always felt so self-conscious around her. She liked me way too much. Like _way too much_.

"Erza and the master asked me to watch over you. I made your favorite lunch." She said grinning up at me. I scooted backwards even though my back was already up against the wall. She punched a tray towards me. I took a deep breath and tried to collect myself. I needed to calm down. She wasn't dangerous. She was just… lively.

"Um… thanks, Juvia. I… uh… I really appreciate it." I got off the bed and picked up the tray. It was only then when I noticed I was naked, save for my underwear. I felt my cheeks warming and I cursed myself for stripping again. It never usually bothered me but ever since Akira said she thought I looked good… I've been more self-conscious.

I went into my bathroom and splashed water on my face. I looked at myself in the mirror and made a decision. I was going to save Akira. I didn't care what it took, I was going to get her back.

I exited the bathroom and walked up to Juvia. Her eyes lit up at my abrupt approach. She looked up at me with admiration and… love. I felt myself throwing up a little on the inside.

"Okay, Juvia I need your help." I said, swallowing the bile in my throat.

"Of course, my love, anything you wish." She said with glee. I sighed, feeling kind of bad or taking advantage of her. She would help me, I knew she would, but it wasn't because she would agree with me.

"I'm going to get Akira back. But the only way the master will let her anywhere near the guild is if she is free of all ties and connections to this Albian." Juvia's smile faltered as I mentioned her name. she looked down in sadness. She looked hurt, like I had stabbed her.

"Of course. You wish to rid your friend of the debt she has with this person." She said quietly. I nodded my head and turned my back, thinking out loud.

"Yeah, and she said she was five hundred thousand dollars in debt. There's no way we can just take a bunch of jobs before handing her the money. It has to be in one go. We need to find a job that will pay the entire amount and have it done so she can take the whole thing and get out of there as soon as possible." I turned back to Juvia and she lifted her head up.

"The master would want you to sit at home for today. Would you like me to find a job that fits the demand?" she asked meekly. I smiled and walked over to her. I took her shoulders.

"Juvia, this means the world to me. You know I would never ask anything like this of you if it didn't mean everything to me." I said honestly. She smiled sincerely.

"I know, my darling. I will do this for you. I want anything that will make you happy. Wait for me here, I will be back in twenty minutes maximum." She squeezed my hand on her shoulder and left, the door shutting softly behind her.

I went to my closet and pulled out a shirt and some pants. I looked at myself in the mirror and tried to make myself promise not to take any of them off. I touched the necklace around my neck. I still remember her giving it to me on my tenth birthday. I smiled at the memory of her shy face passing me the small box and her eyes lighting up when I told her I loved it. I would do anything for her. I still will.

Twenty minutes later, Juvia walked in the door with a job flier. She sat on my bed and stared up at me solemnly. I gave her a look.

"I know you want to save this girl. But this was the only job I could find with five hundred thousand dollars as the reward." She passed me the flier. I glanced down at it and almost crumbled backwards in shock.

"Juvia… this is an S-class quest!" I exclaimed, pushing the paper away like it was a disease. She took it back from me and nodded her head, her eyes filling with tears.

"I'm so sorry I failed you, my darling Gray." She whimpered. I shook my head and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You didn't. it's just… the last time I went on an S-Class quest… I found out that my psycho ex-friend was trying to thaw my master to revive a monster just so he could prove he was stronger than her. To say I'm a little overwhelmed is an understatement." I sighed and looked at the paper. I nodded my head in determination.

"But this is what I'm going to do. I need to do this for Akira. I owe it to her and I said I would do anything. If this is what it takes, then so be it." I took the paper out of her hand and walked over to my desk. I sat in my chair on one side and Juvia joined me on the other.

"The job is to defeat a monster that has been terrorizing a city. We don't know what the monster is though. No one does. But if they're willing to pay this much money, I'm pretty sure it's a big one. We'll need help." Juvia said as I read over the job description. I looked up.

"We? You want to help me?" I asked quietly. Her cheeks turned pink and she looked down sheepishly.

"Of course I do. I will always be here for you." I smiled.

"Thank you, Juvia. And you're right. We will need help. We can't ask any of the S-Class wizards because they're all too loyal to the master and there's no way they'll let us go on this mission. So no Erza, Mira or Laxus to help. We can't ask Macao or Wakaba because they're too loyal to Gramps either. We need someone who is loyal to the guild but agrees with me, or doesn't care. I would suggest Gajeel but I still don't fully trust him yet." Juvia gave me a knowing look.

"You and I both know who we need to ask. You just can't handle having to ask him for help." She said matter-of-factly. I sighed and nodded my head.

"I know I shouldn't be so selfish but you're right. We'll have to ask the pyro for help." Natsu may be reckless and unpredictable but no one could doubt he was strong. Not only was he strong but he knew me and would know how much this meant to me.

"And I hate to admit this, but Lucy should come with us as well." I looked at her, confused.

"Why would you suggest her? You hate her." I said pointedly. Juvia sighed.

"As much as I hate to admit it, she has some powerful spirits. Plus she would do anything for you. She is my rival after all." Juvia's eyes flashed with anger. I smirked.

"Juvia, I promise on my honor that I have no feelings for Lucy and she has none for me. But you're right. She's a god pick too. Both of them can be persuaded easily and fast. We need to leave now." Juvia nodded and stood up.

"Let's meet at the train station in twenty minutes. I'll bring Lucy, you bring Natsu." She said. I nodded and we headed out.

I headed to the park. I was pretty sure Natsu would be there with Happy and Lisanna. Ever since she came back, Natsu has been hanging out with her a lot. Maybe they've rekindled an old fire. I knew they used to be close. Lucy seemed like Natsu's new love interest now but I could have been mistaken.

I found him and Happy walking by the big tree in the middle. I walked up to them, and joined him on his walk. Natsu was annoying and crazy and incredibly stupid but we had a connection. A hidden friendship that I would immediately deny if anyone ever accused me of it.

"Natsu… I know I kind of freaked out today but…" I started. Natsu silenced me with a finger.

"Save it, Gray. I know why you did it. I'm pretty sure I would react worse if the master forbade me from seeing Igneel or something." He said understandingly. I smiled but almost immediately wiped it off my face. I cleared my throat loudly.

"Um… yeah, about Akira… what did you think of her?" I cursed myself for being too chicken to just come right out with it. I hated asking for help. Especially from this annoying bone-head.

"She was cool. Kind of quiet, reserved. Not really what I expected. I bet she could kick your butt though!" he cackled. I snarled at him.

"She could kick both our butts and have a fun time doing it!" I countered.

"She couldn't beat me, I'd never let myself get beat by a girl!"

"Yeah, says the guy who cowers from Erza _and_ Lucy!" I snapped.

"I do not cower from Lucy!"

"You do too you lying pyromaniac!"

"Do you want to go now sir?" he shouted, his hand igniting. I rolled my eyes, about to shout back when Happy jumped in the middle of both of us.

"Hey! Stop it! Gray, if you came here for a fight then I suggest you get lost because Natsu and I were going to go fishing. If not, then spill because you're wasting my fishing time!" he shouted in my face.

"Maybe you should tell your dear friend not to diss my best friend! Akira is stronger then you will ever be and I need to save her from a future I know she'll never escape from if I don't act now!" I yelled back. Happy jumped behind Natsu's shoulder in fear from my tone. Natsu stood up and lowered his fists seriously.

"Gray, what are you talking about?" he asked compellingly. I sighed and rubbed the bridge of my nose.

"Juvia and I need your help. We're going to get Akira out of her debt so we're going on an S-Class quest and we need someone else to have our backs and—"

"Hold up, Gray. You had me at 'S-Class quest'." I looked up to see him grinning. "Yeah, let's go kick some butt and get your friend back! I'm all fired up!"

"Aye, sir!" Happy exclaimed just as enthusiastic. I smirked at their immaturity.

"I didn't think you'd agree so easily." I said quietly. Natsu put a hand on my shoulder.

"I know how much she means to you. And you would do it for me. I know you would." I smiled and nodded. "I still hate you though." He withdrew his hand and walked away. I rolled my eyes and fell into step beside him.

"Oh don't worry. Don't think that fight was over back there. I'll still give you what for." I said, smirking. He grinned back.

"I look forward to it."

We arrived at the train station ten minutes later and saw Juvia and Lucy waiting for us. I smiled at Lucy as we walked up to them. She smiled back and nodded. Juvia had explained to her the situation. She was letting me know she was with me. I was grateful for that.

"Do we have to take the train?" Natsu complained next to me. I looked over at him. He had a certain weakness with motion. He had a severe condition that caused him to get sick whenever he was on something that moved. He looked really pale just looked at the train. I laughed.

"Do you want us to walk hundreds of miles?" I asked him sarcastically.

"It would be less painful." He said gulping. I rolled my eyes and shoved him in front of me.

"Enough complaining, let's go." He stumbled into the train in front of me, grumbling about how much he hated me and how much I would pay for making him ride on the train. I sat next to him in a booth with Juvia and Lucy sliding in on the other side. The train started and Natsu gripped his mouth and made a disgusting vomiting sound.

"You know what, Natsu?" I said finally. He looked over at me wearily. Before he could react, I gutted him hard, causing him to pass out. "You just sleep it out. You don't need to know much anyway. Just kick butt and you'll be fine." Lucy eyed me disapprovingly.

"Did you really need to hit him?" she asked. I shrugged.

"How else was I going to get him to shut up?"

"You enjoyed that didn't you?" she asked sighing. I shrugged smirking slightly. Juvia placed the flier on the table in front of us. She pointed at the town name.

"Enough banter, we need to make a plan. This monster supposedly is too powerful for the town mayor and his arm. So they're asking help from wizards because the Fiore army won't come help." Juvia explained. I nodded and took the flier, staring at the menacing picture of the monster. It had wings, and it was jet black. I had never seen a creature like this. It looked like… it had a beak. Was that a lion's tail?

"What did you say the town's name was again?" Lucy asked.

"Caldera. We're going to Caldera."


	5. Chapter 5: The Griffin

**_Isn't Life fun? not. Hello! I'm back with a new chapter, it's been forever but i figured, hey, i can't give up on this story:P Leave a review if you liked it! It helps me out a lot!_**

Chapter 5—The Griffin

_Gray_

The train stopped at Caldera station two hours later and Juvia and Lucy had been giving each other death glares while I had been sitting uncomfortably next to an unconscious Natsu and a very hungry Happy. I think it was safe to say I wasn't having a very good day. In fact, I think it was safe to say that this was the worst day of my life. So right now, it was either going to turn around quick or just get worse. Knowing my luck, the latter was probably the likeliest.

I slung Natsu over my shoulder as Lucy and Juvia exited in front of me, cursing at each other and making snide comments from time to time. I'm pretty sure Juvia brings out the worst in Lucy and I don't think Lucy minds it one bit. She reminds me of a ticking time-bomb. One small slip up and bam—she'll explode in your face.

I put Natsu down once we got off the train and looked up to see a second train stopped next to ours. There were people waiting outside of it impatiently. I noticed the sun was already starting to get closer to setting and these people looked frustrated. I assumed the train broke down. Sure looked like it by the way the working men ran to and from the engine car like it was on fire.

Natsu rolled over and opened his eyes slightly. I looked down at him and nudged him with my foot.

"Come on, bone-head, let's get going." Natsu grabbed my ankle, a new form of anger appearing on his face.

"Don't think I don't know what happened in the train. Don't ever punch me again, got it? If you want a fight, I'll give you one but that was just unfair." He pulled against my leg and stood up. He squared his shoulders to face me, his eyes a slight shade darker.

"Don't be ridiculous. I saved you two hours of agonizing stomach pain. You should be thanking me." I hissed back. We stood in this way, glaring at each other for another good three minutes. Finally Lucy spoke up.

"Um… I hate to interrupt this… whatever it you're doing, but don't we have something we need to do?" she said cautiously. Natsu looked away and crossed his arms, pouting slightly. I turned my attention back to her and the town.

"You're right. Let's find this guy who sent out the request. Who does it say he is? Do you have the flier, Juvia?" I asked, starting towards the exit. Juvia nodded and pulled it, sidling closer towards me, subtly. I noticed, of course, but I didn't have the heart or the patience to move away. She would just find a way to come back next to me.

"It says this man's a Lord and the mayor of this town. It says he lives in the manor at the center of town." She informed quietly while looking around. I was curious of this town as well. The buildings were old, and the architecture seemed like it had been built centuries ago. There was hardly anyone on the streets and the cobblestone was filthy with what looked like mud. At least, I hoped it was mud.

"If this man is a lord, he should be pretty rich." Lucy said quietly. "Actually, that's kind of obvious, since he's willing to pay five hundred thousand jewels for this. It just doesn't make sense. Why would he leave the streets in this condition if he had enough money to get it cleaned?"

"Same reason most rich people would do it. He's a selfish bastard." I said matter-of-factly. Lucy shook her head.

"No I don't think so. That would be true if he hadn't sent out the request. But this job is about a monster terrorizing the city. Why would he care about his monster when he could just flee? That's what a selfish rich man would normally do in this situation. Explain that." She said back. I had to admit, she had a point. But there could be an explanation for that.

"How long has this job been up?" I asked Juvia. She shrugged and glanced at it.

"I think it's been there a while. It was there when I joined the guild, I know that for sure. I remember looking at the S-Class quests and seeing this one with the rest."

"That was almost four months ago. If it's been that long, do you think this lord would even care about cleaning the streets? It doesn't matter if it's an issue of life of death." I said rationally. Lucy shrugged, her eyes looking more at the closed shutters and boarded up doors at all the houses.

"Whatever the reason, this town looks completely hopeless. I'm really surprised no one from our guild had taken this job yet. You would think a town getting terrorized would have more help calls everywhere, you know?" she said, cringing slightly as a woman on her way home dropped her basket she was carrying and cried out in panic. I said nothing as I observed the town.

After another few minutes of walking in uncomfortable silence, we reached the mayor's house. Natsu hadn't said anything since we got off the train and I could tell this quest was becoming more than just a stepping stone to saving Akira. This was now a quest to save this town just because they needed saving.

After ringing the doorbell, we were quickly ushered inside by a butler. He shooed us inside the grad house before locking the door six or seven times and placing a board on the lock so it was impossible to get in. The house was completely dark save for a few candles surrounding the rooms. The butler showed us to a living room lighted by a candle on the coffee table. The mayor and his wife sat on a loveseat facing the coffee table across from a long couch. We took a seat on the couch, Natsu and Lucy on either side and Juvia sitting next to Lucy.

"Are you the wizards from Fairy Tail?" the mayor asked. He was a short, but handsome man in his mid-forties who was slightly balding around the corners. His wife was tall and elegant. She was quite beautiful, maybe a couple of years younger than the mayor. Not used to taking the lead, I nodded my head once.

"Yes sir, we are. Would you mind telling us a little more about your situation?" Lucy asked politely before I could get a word in. I closed my mouth and allowed her to take the lead because she was better at talking to people than I was. Her innocent face and kind words had people trusting her more than they trusted me.

"Yes, of course. It all started four months ago. The monster started to attack our town. It wasn't too serious at first. It just took a few sheep and couple of pets. But soon, it began to visit every night, taking people instead of animals. I sent my own army after it and only six came back alive." His wife shivered and curled her arms around her husband's shoulders. Lucy gave a sympathetic look.

"I'm so sorry this happened to you." She whispered with genuine concern.

"Thank you. I'm sorry I can't give you more details of the monster. All I know from those who have seen it is that it is big, black and can fly. It had claws and eyes like a hawk. I know it is fast because I myself have seen it but only a blur because it was moving so fast."

Natsu stood up and turned to me.

"I've heard enough. We know this is big bad monster, but we're wasting time talking about it. We need to go and defeat this thing before it takes any more lives." He said gravely. I stood up, nodding and turning to the mayor.

"We will defeat this monster, sir. You can count on us. After tonight, you won't have to worry about the safety of your town from this monster." I have him a determined smile and the mayor and his wife hugged each other with relief. She began to cry. She stood up and grasped my hand with gratitude.

"Thank you so much. All of you." She whispered, choking on her tears. Her husband led her out, informing us that he needed to look after his wife. He wished us good luck and then he was gone. I glanced at the others and no words were exchanged but we all mentally complied. We exited the mayor's house with a great amount of willpower and determination.

We stepped into the town courtyard and looked around. The town was quiet as the sun dipped behind a mountain, leaving the town under darkness. We waited for another good twenty minutes before anything happened. We heard the sound of a bird screeching over the town. Then a raven black figure appeared in the sky. It was huge and fast. It zoomed over our heads and flew into the town.

"Natsu! Bring it over here!" I shouted, just as the thing began to attack the houses of the townspeople. Natsu understood and lit his entire body on fire before letting out a blast of fire straight upward to signal the monster. It turned its hawk-like head and focused its eyes on us. Then it spun towards us and sprung forward.

I clasped my hands out front and tried to latch my eyes on it to get a target but I couldn't see it properly as it was too dark and it was moving too fast. Blindly, I attacked at whatever I could see moving.

"Ice-make Lance!" I shouted. The ice shot from my fingertips and shot towards its target.

"Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" Natsu shouted, letting his attack propel towards the monster as well.

"Water Slicer!" Juvia cried at the same time. All our attacks shot towards the target and hit it square in the chest. The monster screeched in pain and slowed down. It didn't, however, keel over the way I thought it would. Instead it faced us with anger filling its yellow eyes.

"Open! Gate of the Golden Bull! Taurus!" I heard Lucy shout from somewhere to my left. Her sprit charged towards the monster as I prepared myself for a second attack.

"Ice-Make Hammer!" I shouted.

"Fire Dragon Wing Attack!"

"Water Slicer!"

This time, our attacks missed the monster completely as it dodged us with ease and swung its wing down knocking Lucy's spirit clean off its feet. The spirit landed with a sickening thud before apologizing to Luc and disappearing, unable to fight. Then the monster lunged for us. Natsu and I recognized the attack before the girl did. I dove to Juvia who was closest to me. I grabbed her and jumped out of the way before the monster could crush us.

I turned to see Natsu holding Lucy from the other side of the courtyard. I set Juvia down, her usual crazy gone as she was engulfed in the battle.

"It's too fast. I can't get a good target on it." Juvia said, panting. She was right. From the way this monster was moving, there was no way we would be able to attack it directly unless it stopped moving. Suddenly, I had an idea. But it was risky and extremely dangerous. I left Juvia's side prayed that she, Natsu, and Lucy would catch on quickly.

"Ice-Make Floor!" I yelled, jumping on my iced floor and skating out directly towards the monster. It turned its beady eyes to me and was about to lunged when it slipped, slowing down for a mere few seconds.

"Ice-Make Lance!" I shouted, pointing my attack directly at it before it regained its composure.

"Fire Dragon Wing Attack!" I heard Natsu yell from behind it. Our attacks hit the monster simultaneously. It screeched in surprise and unfolded its huge eagle wings. Pumping the wings down with intense power, it took off, flying above the town the regain its momentum.

I was still skating on my iced floor and I could see it diving back down to attack me. I gasped as it picked up its speed, giving me no time to dive out of its way. I covered my head to try and stop the blow. Before it could touch me, however, something fast and small zipped onto the iced floor and zoomed towards me, knocking me out of the way of the monster's attack. I flew off to the side and hit the pavement before almost blacking out from the pain shooting up my spine.

I shook my head and tried to get my eyes to focus so I could see what saved me. Blond hair caught my eyes as I saw a person in black clothing pinning the monster on the ground with the flat end of a huge sword. My eyes slowly regained focus as I saw Akira's face whipped with concentration and awareness. My pupils dilated as I saw her gritting her teeth, trying to keep the monster down on the ground. She was losing her hold, and was searching desperately for an escape route.

Suddenly, the monster erupted free of her grip and sent her flying towards the wall of a building. She slammed against the wall and crumpled down in a heap. Now, fully aware, I stood up and lashed out at the monster, trying to push it away from Akira. As if right on cue, Natsu and Juvia appeared next to me along with Loke, Lucy's spirit and our personal friend.

Together, we managed to send it away but unharmed. We couldn't touch the thing. After it took flight, I rushed over to where Lucy was tentatively rolling Akira over, her body limp and unmoving and her eyes closed.

_Akira_

My body was down. My entire archives had shut down after the impact and I could get it to reboot. For a grueling few minutes, I lay there, aware of my situation but completely unconscious. I couldn't hear or see anything and my sensors were completely offline. Finally, I felt a soft whirring in my body and text scrolled across my face.

Reboot System Activated. Calibrating…

10%... 24%... 33%... 49%...

By the time it had reached 80%, I could feel my senses returning to me. Finally, it reached 100 and I could open my eyes and take a voluntary breath. I was greeted by the concerned faces of Gray and Lucy, looking down at me through the night. Immediately after rebooting, I sat up, unfazed and unharmed. My magic did a good job of rebooting my entire system so my injuries disappeared. The only downside was that it took a little longer to heal larger wounds.

Gray grasped my shoulders and pulled me into an embrace. His eyes filled with tears as he buried his mouth into my shoulder. Still stiff and rigid as a board, I waited for him to release me. When he finally did, he opened his mouth to say something but I held my finger up, hearing a familiar screech from the air. This fight was nowhere near over.

"Save it. Right now, there's a big bird we need to attend to." I said before pushing him back and standing up. I looked over to see Natsu and Juvia looking down at me with indifference and a young man I had never seen before. He was wearing an elegant black suit and had orange hair and what looked to be lion's ears protruding from the tufts of bright orange hair. He wore glasses and I thought it was safe to say he was pretty easy on the eyes.

"Loke." He said, noticing the way I was staring at him. I nodded at him. I could only assume he was one of Lucy's spirits since I knew she had no fighting ability whatsoever.

"Akira." I replied tersely. He gave me a firm nod of acknowledgment in return. I looked up into the sky and activated my night vision without wasting any more time. I singled out the monster and waited as my archive magic scrolled across my face.

Griffin

Magic: Aerial, Speed, and Power

Trigger: Anger

Strength: Speed and Strength Combined Attack

Weakness: Blind Spot Underneath Wings

I took a breath and turned back to the others. Gray had stood up and was now looking at me grimly, as if he was contemplating something. Whether or not he chose to trust me was his problem. He probably knew all about me now and was wondering how his dear friend could become such a cold-blooded murderer.

"Okay, there's no time to explain but I know how to beat this thing so listen up—"

"Wait, how do we know we can trust you?" Juvia said, cutting me off. I gave her a look that had made bigger men cower in fear but she continued, unfazed. "The master told us about you and what you did. How do we know you're not just leading us into a trap?" Gray said nothing, instead looked at his shoes. He was having doubts as well. I couldn't blame him. But I couldn't afford doubt right now.

"It doesn't matter if you can trust me or not, wither way, there's still a giant bird monster in the sky and if we don't kill it, it's going to kill us and everyone in his town. Is that was you want? Don't forget, I saved your beloved's sorry ass so you owe me." I snarled in her face. She glared at me but refrained from accusing me of anything more.

"It's too fast." Natsu said. "How are we supposed to beat something that has equal amounts of speed and power?

"Since when have you thought about anything? You're the guy who always dives headfirst into battle am I right?" I said tauntingly in his face. Natsu's ears turned slightly pink and he scowled at me.

"I already did that and the thing was too fast for me. How do we beat it?" he said bitterly. I turned back to face the monster as it still circled above, looking for us, trying to find a possible way to kill us.

"There's a blind spot just under his wings. All we really have to do it get it to stand still and open its wings and then attack right from under them."

"And how do you propose we do that?" Juvia hissed, crossing her arms. I gave her a pointed look and continued to explain my plan.

"Gray and Juvia need to stand on the left side of the monster while Natsu and Loke stand on the right. I'll distract it long enough so it opens its wings. When it does, do not hesitate. Aim for just under the wings and give it everything you've got. This will require all of us." I said, finishing my explanation.

"What am I doing in all of this?" Lucy asked, stepping forward. I looked at her and frowned. What exactly could she do? Nothing really except keep Loke's gate open.

"Staying out of the way and keeping Loke's gate open." I replied firmly. She closed her mouth and nodded grimly, grabbing Natsu's blue cat Happy and walking away to a corner. I turned back to the other and nodded.

We walked out on the courtyard, everyone getting in their positions. I closed my fingers around a poison dagger and took a deep breath. Lighting my other hand with summoned fire, I threw it up in the air, signaling for the beast to come down for me. And it did, seeing my signal and diving towards me on the ground. I planted my feet and hunched my shoulders, knowing what I had to do. It was stupid and dangerous but it was the only way we could beat this thing.

As soon as I aligned its beak with my chest, I moved a centimeter to the side. It's beak slammed into the ground next to me and I managed to leap out of the way and stick my dagger directly in its neck. It screeched and lifted its head up, taking me with it. It shook me around and I felt myself holding on for dear life. It opened its wings wide and I heard the others attack right on cue.

With an explosion of magic power, the beast squawked in pain and stopped shaking me, I slipped off its neck, the dagger disappearing, and slumped directly under its body. I could feel my systems deactivating because I needed to be healed and I could no longer move my limbs. I stared directly up at the monster's belly and watched as it began to fall on top of me. I closed my eyes in defeat and waited for the thing to crush the life out of me.

Before it could, however, someone grabbed me around the shoulders and under my knees and lifted me off the ground, taking off away from the beast. I heard the crash behind us and looked up to see Natsu's focused eyes and his pursed lips. I felt my fingers curling around his vest unconsciously and my breath hitched my throat. This boy had saved me. Even though I was a murderer, I had killed, he had saved me. Why? I wanted to yell at him. Why would you save me?

"Natsu…" I felt my lips say before I could stop them. He looked down at me as we finally made it to safety. "Why?" I whispered.

"I wasn't about to let you get crushed. That would break Gray's heart." He said with amusement. Then, he grinned. "That was some stunt you pulled back there. I don't think even I could move that fast. Thanks for saving us. We owe our lives to you." He said genuinely. I felt my cheeks heat up as he gently placed me on my feet again.

I turned away from him to hide my blush and looked over at the body of the Griffin. Its jet black body was smooth and beautiful. It was a majestic creature. Shame it had to be so evil. Gray and Juvia ran over to where Natsu and I were and I saw Lucy and Loke jogging over to us as well. Lucy threw her arms around Natsu's neck in relief and then proceeded to tell him off about how reckless he had been. Juvia gave me a terse nod and Loke smiled at me before returning to the spirit world.

Gray took me in his arms again and I felt my pupils dilate as his lips pressed against my forehead.

"Thank the stars you're okay…" he whispered. I pulled myself out of his grip and looked away, avoiding his eyes.

"Okay, down to the bigger questions. Why the hell are you guys fighting a griffin in the middle of the night just after I left, huh? I'm not stupid; this had something to do with me. What, did you feel like fighting would help you cool off once you found out about me?" I snapped at everyone, but mostly Gray. He dipped his head before looking back up.

"No, we came out here to help you get out of that guild. We know you're in debt and you just need a certain amount of jewels before you can be free again." Gray explained, smiling. He held out his hand expectantly like I was supposed to fall into him and thank him for doing this courageous and wonderful thing for me. Not a damn chance.

"Was this a job? Did you think you would get the money and then deliver to Albian like some sort of bribe? You have no idea what you're dealing with. This has nothing to do with you and if you get involved you will be trapped in so deep that you will never be able to dig yourself out."

"No, it wasn't for a bribe. It was for you. We were going to give it to you so you could pay back your master and come home with us."

"I don't want your money. You think Albian's going to be stupid enough not to know when the money was earned or not? There's a reason he's the most notorious guild master in all of Fiore. You're all stupid to think you can cheat him out like that. No, if I want out, I have to earn it myself and there's only one way he'll allow me to get money and that's to do what he taught me. To kill. So if you really want me back, I'll come back to you but after I do, you won't stand the sight of me." I said before wrenching myself out of his grasp and waking away, back to the train station. Gray grabbed my arm, the way I knew he would.

"Akira, wait. Please, you don't—" Before he could finish, I whirled around and summoned my sleep magic from my archives. I blew some powder into his face and he collapsed, completely asleep. I did the same to the others who tried to protest but they fell out too. I stepped back, staring at all of them and hating myself for doing this to them before running off to join Brand and Pickaxe at the train.

I couldn't believe they were doing this for me. Gray was more amazing than I ever thought possible. He had risked possible expulsion from the guild just to try something off a whim. I couldn't take that money. It wasn't my money. Even if I did help them defeat it, the worst I could do was split it with them. And even then I wouldn't be able to pay Albian back. It was a valiant effort but I couldn't let them fall into my life and my tie to Albian. I couldn't let them see the real me underneath the façade. They had never seen me kill and hopefully, they never would.


End file.
